Antaran Defense Force Aero Starfighter

This is one of the mainstays of the Antaran Defense Force. It is a short-range hyperdrive-equipped starfighter heavily armed and armored. The Aero is designed for adequate atmospheric performance, but it is primarily designed to be used as a space interceptor. The Aero was explicitly designed to fend off the heavy weapons of the Xillashi attack craft and to punch holes in Xillashi capital ship defenses. As a result, the Aero is not particularly fast of maneuverable by the standards of modern starfighters, but it is more maneuverable than most Xillashi snub fighters. The Aero backs multiple heavy laser banks and missile tubes and reinforced forward hull plating and shielding systems. The heavy power draw of the high-output shields restricts the Aero to relatively short ranges, limiting the usefulness of the onboard hyperdrive system; in roughly half of the ADF fleet, the hyperdrives have been cannibalized and replaced by a makeshift extended power cell. If stealth is not required, the Aero can mount proton bombs or concussion missile racks externally as well.